Friday, 21 April 2017

Sexism: Men Who Use Sexist & Homophobic Jokes Have psychological Problems - Study

There is a certain man who thinks it’s funny to suggest a
woman get back in the kitchen. Or tells her not to cry when something
goes slightly awry. Or asks whether it’s her ‘time of the month’ if
she’s annoyed.

Those men - well, they’re many things - but according to a
new study, men who make sexist jokes are probably just insecure about
their masculinity.

In news that will come as little surprise to many, science
has proven that men who use sexist and anti-gay humour do so to reaffirm
their own sense of self, particularly when they feel their masculinity
is being threatened.

Disparaging jokes are often used to reinforce one’s position
as part of an in-group by clearly separating them from an out-group.

Researchers from the Western Carolina University in the US conducted two experiments with 387 heterosexual men.

The participants completed online tests to reveal their
personalities, social attitudes and prejudice levels against women and
gay men.

In the questionnaire, the men were asked how much they
agreed with various statements such as “Women seek to gain power by
getting control over men” and “Once a woman gets a man to commit to her,
she usually tries to put him on a tight leash.”

The men’s preferred type of humour was then also deciphered,
as well as whether they thought their humour would help others form a
more accurate impression of them.

The results of the study suggest that men who hold more
precarious manhood beliefs - particularly when they feel their
masculinity as defined by typical gender norms is being challenged - are
more likely to use sexist and anti-gay jokes to provide
self-affirmation.

“Men higher in precarious manhood beliefs expressed
amusement with sexist and anti-gay humour in response to a masculinity
threat because they believe it reaffirms an accurate, more masculine
impression of them,” lead study author Emma O’Connor explained.

“It appears that by showing amusement with sexist and
anti-gay humour, such men can distance themselves from the traits they
want to disconfirm,” she says.

The researchers hope that the findings of the study will help prevent such humour occurring, particularly in the workplace.

“Work settings where women occupy positions of authority
might inherently trigger masculinity threats for men higher in
precarious manhood beliefs and thus sexist joking,” says O'Connor, who
adds that sexist jokes and teasing are two of the most common forms of
sexual harassment women face at work.

“Given the social protection afforded to humour as a medium
for communicating disparagement, it is possible that men use sexist
humour in the workplace as a 'safe' way to reaffirm their threatened
masculinity,” explains O'Connor.

But she believes that if managers better understood how and
why such harassment occurs, they’d be able to prevent and handle it more
effectively.

“For instance, they might more closely monitor workplace
settings that could trigger masculinity threats and subsequent sexist
joking, or they might attempt to reduce the extent to which men perceive
masculinity threats in those settings in the first place.” IndiLife